Débat de midi

Bitcoin, Blockchain and all that Jazz

Alexandre Swoboda, Professor of International Economics Emeritus

Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin and distributed ledger technologies like Blockchain have been mooted as disruptive forces that would fundamentally transform finance and payments. They have also been dismissed as hype, fodder for bubbles, and Ponzi schemes. This briefing will explore the two sides of the argument, assessing the potential for virtual currencies, Bitcoin among others, to serve as money in a significant sense.

Alexandre Swoboda is Professor of International Economics Emeritus at the Graduate Institute and served as the Institute’s Director between 1990 and 1998. The Founding Director of the International Center for Monetary and Banking Studies and past President of the Swiss Society for Economics and Statistics, he served on the Swiss National Bank’s Council and was Senior Policy Advisor in the IMF’s Research Department.

Moderator: Ugo Panizza, Professor of International Economics; Pictet Chair in Finance and Development